Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan

On January 12, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Beibut Atamkulov, within the framework of the first Ministerial Meeting of India – Central Asia Dialogue with participation of Afghanistan, in the city of Samarkand.

Welcoming the guest, Abdulaziz Kamilov congratulated Beibut Atamkulov on his appointment to the high and responsible post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and wished him success.

At the meeting, the ministers noted that the last year meetings of Presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Astana, Samarkand and Saryagash gave new dynamics to multifaceted Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan relations. The regular meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission, the Business Council, the first forum of interregional cooperation and other important joint events held in 2018 allowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in practical terms.

At the same time, as it was emphasized, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have significant potential for expanding cooperation, primarily in trade-economic, investment, transport-communication fields. This is evidenced by the fact that over 11 months of the last year, the trade turnover grew by 38% and exceeded 2.6 billion USD. There are significant unused opportunities in the sphere of interregional relations, direct contacts between the border areas of the two countries.

At the negotiations, issues of preparation of the upcoming Advisory Meeting of the Heads of States of Central Asia in Tashkent city and participation of Kazakhstan delegation took an important place.

The sides also considered bilateral and regional issues related to ensuring stability and sustainable development, prospects for further deepening cooperation in tourism, cultural and humanitarian sphere.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, the ministers noted with satisfaction the successful results of the Year of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan and exchanged views on preparations for the Year of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan in 2019.